Chapter 180: Church

The Thames River runs from east to west across London.

A black four-seat sedan travels along the main road on the north bank of the Thames.

Inside the car.

Sitting in the passenger seat is Aya Buleiya, dressed in a black suit, while the driver is another female agent similarly attired.

Buleiya, who has worked for Umbrella for six years, has been promoted to one of London's supervisors, responsible for directing London's agents, and no longer needs to run around Europe as she once did.

As for Leon, a top-tier agent who still travels the globe, he is an exception.

As a supervisor, Buleiya is currently heading with her deputy to a designated location to carry out a mission.

They are driving east along the main road on the north bank.

After leaving the congested district, the two arrive at the northeastern part of Plasuto Old Town, near Canary Wharf, where it is much quieter.

Soon, they drive to the edge of the old town, to a Christian church, ignoring the 'No Stopping' sign, and pull up directly opposite the church's main gate.

The two get out of the car one after another.

After closing the car door, Buleiya turns around and looks up at the church before her.

Although not as grand as St. Paul's Cathedral in central London, its size is not small, comparable to a British public primary and secondary school.

Moreover, from the traces of multiple renovations on its exterior, Buleiya judges that the church has a history of at least two hundred years.

"Superior." The female deputy comes to Buleiya's side.

"Let's go."

Buleiya and her deputy cross the street and walk toward the church's main entrance.

A middle-aged nun in a thick black robe, who had been sweeping the church's front yard, sees the two, leans her broom against the wall, tidies her clothing, steps forward, and says with a smiling, kind expression:

"May God bless you both sisters. Today should be a rest day on Boxing Day; I wonder what brings you two sisters to our church today?"

"Hello." Buleiya also smiles in response, takes out her phone, unlocks the screen, and shows the nun a photo, saying:

"We've come to find this child."

"This..." Upon seeing the person depicted in the photo, the nun's smile freezes.

"I want to adopt this child." Buleiya puts away her phone and asks, "May we come inside to talk?"

"Of... of course, no problem. Come with me, you two sisters."

The nun's face breaks into a smile again, even warmer and more sincere than before, not a habitual professional smile.

Afterward, the nun leads Buleiya and her deputy into the church.

Passing the antechamber holding holy water, they arrive at the empty nave, which is the hall with two rows of seats where the congregation listens to the priest's prayers and worship.

They arrive at the nave.

The nun says to Buleiya, "Sister, are you sure you've decided to adopt that child?"

"Of course." Buleiya answers without hesitation.

"All right, I'll take you to see her first." the nun says with a smile.

The three pass through the nave, go right through the corridor, and arrive at the annex building on the church's right side.

This is the area where the clergy normally live and work, and also where the orphans taken in by the church live and study.

After all, this church is now a welfare church that has partnered with the local London government, responsible for taking in and educating orphans who have been abandoned or whose relatives have suffered misfortune.

The three go to the end of the building's first floor and arrive outside the classroom on the left.

"Ha ha~." Innocent laughter occasionally comes from inside.

Looking through the open door, one sees that the classroom has been carefully decorated, full of festive atmosphere.

On the side of the podium near the window stands a four-meter-tall Christmas tree, beneath which lie many torn-open gift boxes and gift bags.

The children sit in small groups, discussing and showing what Christmas gifts they have received.

The gifts are little surprises prepared by the nuns out of their own pockets, such as the latest complete set of comics or crystal balls that girls like, and so on.

You should know that the orphans living in Plasuto Church look forward to Christmas most each year, because they can enjoy the year's most lavish dinner and, the next morning, reap new gifts.

For those without parents, this is currently the thing they most look forward to.

And there is one child who is somewhat special.

All that can be seen is her wearing a black robe in the style of a nun, sitting alone in the corner by the classroom wall, gazing expressionlessly out the window in contemplation…

Or perhaps she is simply dazed.

She is fourteen or fifteen years old, with delicate features and a head of beautiful golden hair.

She seems unable to play with the other children, and the other children seem to be deliberately distancing themselves from her.

Seeing this, the nun walks into the classroom, comes to the corner, half-squats beside the girl who doesn't fit in, and asks with a smile:

"NuoWa, what's wrong? Don't you like this year's gift?"

The child named NuoWa comes to her senses, takes a delicate doll from the desk drawer, holds it in her arms, and shakes her head at the nun, saying:

"Of course not."

Upon hearing this, the nun raises her hand and gently rubs NuoWa's cheek, saying in a kind tone:

"But next year today, you might not receive the gift I give you, because… you are going to have a mother."

?!

After the nun's words fell, all the children stared in disbelief at the corner of the classroom, and even NuoWa, with a look of astonishment, raised her hand and pointed at herself, saying:

"Me?"

Next.

The nun leads NuoWa out of the classroom and introduces her to Buleiya, who is waiting outside.

Then the nun brings Buleiya to see the priest in charge of the church, and tells her the documents needed for adoption and how long the whole process is expected to take.

The priest, upon checking via computer, discovers that Buleiya is a senior official of the London municipal government, and that she had already submitted an adoption application to the welfare agency, which has been approved.

So after completing the paperwork on this side of the church, NuoWa packed his luggage and, under the gaze of the priest and the nuns, sat in the back seat of the car.

The assistant started the engine, carrying Buleiya and NuoWa forward; after turning left onto another main road, they vanished from the priest and the nuns' sight.

The priest and the nuns could not have imagined that eight years ago his parents had perished in a fire, he alone survived, and thus the reclusive NuoWa would end up being adopted by a high official.

But most of these clergy sincerely blessed NuoWa, hoping that he and other children in similar circumstances would find a good home.

———————

…

A few hours later.

The Minos Island had just entered the midday period.

East side of the island.

The base complex's scale, compared with 2001, has expanded by at least five times, after all Umbrella has already moved its intelligence agents, spy training facilities, and the like to Minos Island.

At this moment, inside a shade canopy not far from the eastern beach.

Sui Bian, sitting on a folding chair, was reviewing the files of thirty‑seven orphans that Bai Hou had compiled for him, using the ultra‑thin tablet in his hand.

(End of chapter)